Charter Review Committee Narrows Its Focus in Initial Report

After months of meetings, the Charter Review Committee is readying an initial report, the first of three reports required by the Amherst Town Council’s Charge to the Committee. A draft memo describes the committee’s background, process, and work to date. 

With only five members in attendance (Julian Hynes, Raphael Rogers, Bernie Kubiak, Erika Mijlin, and Andy Churchill) the committee’s  October 16 meeting ended early for lack of a quorum when Churchill announced his intention to attend another meeting. Those in attendance reviewed a draft initial report that is in the form of a spreadsheet, specifying each section of the Charter that the committee has selected for further discussion. For each section, the spreadsheet includes a brief rationale for its inclusion and the current relevant Charter language. The committee’s charge assumes that the initial report will include draft changes to the Charter, but Kubiak emphasized that it will only identify sections that need clarification and discussion and are expressly not recommendations for change. Kubiak also urged the committee to “whittle down” the number of recommendations that will make it into the final report, although there was no mention of criteria that would guide this process.  

Hynes reiterated the current plan to finalize and submit the initial report and memo to Town Council. The initial report will include only those matters that are within the scope of the council to enact. It will not include any points raised in public comments such as replacing the Town Manager with an elected Mayor, that would require either a legislative act or a new charter commission. The memo will include a link to the entire list of comments received on the committee’s web portal since the committee commenced work in October 2025.. The Outreach Subcommittee of the Charter Review Committee is planning to solicit public comment on the initial report by means yet to be determined.

The charge to the committee requires a second, preliminary report that must describe  recommendations for Charter revisions. The committee must then hold a public forum to solicit further feedback. The final report must contain specific proposed Charter revisions for the Town Council to consider. Before it is submitted, the contents will be vetted by both the consultant for the charter review, the Collins Center for Public Management, and the town attorneys, KP Law.

The entire process must be completed no later than January 5, 2026, since Town Council has made it clear that there will be no further extensions.